Biobased nanomaterials as functional food ingredients

One of the latest and emerging areas that has attracted the interest of both the research community and the food industry is food nanotechnology. The primary functional roles of nanotechnology in food processing and packaging include, but are not limited to, improvement in barrier properties, incorporation of active functional ingredients through edible packaging etc., and biosensing and signaling through smart packaging. Food nanotechnology applications have aided in achieving improved quality by enhancing the taste, flavoring, texture, absorption and bioavailability properties, antimicrobial properties, and shelf life. Biosensing properties of smart packaging and nutraceutical additives assist in decreasing spoilage and hence improving both quality and quantity. There are several properties owing to which nanoemulsions have an added advantage when compared to conventional emulsions, such as small droplet size, improved bioavailability, appealing physical uniformity upon gravitational partition and droplet accumulations, and a high optical clarity. Bioactive chemical or functional ingredients can be very effectively doped in foods using the nanoencapsulation technique. With the benefits provided by nanotechnology in the food industry, their biosafety continues to be a major concern. As with any other novel technology that comes into the industry, more rigorous research and studies are required to validate the possible advantages of nanotechnology-based food applications, products, and their safety concerns related to health. With regard to nanotechnology-based products or, simply put, “nanofoods,” the specific regulations by EU/WE/global legislation standards are still inadequate. In this chapter, applications of food nanotechnology have been introduced and discussed in brief, followed by a detailed description of bionanomaterials used in nanofoods and as nutraceuticals, their limitations, and challenges, and concluding with their future prospects.